Mabon: Fall Equinox
Audio essays * Culinary Wellness video * Story Art-in-Motion * Books & Music
2024 Edition No. 3
Publisher’s Note by Debbie Abbott
Hello and Happy Fall to all ~
In this third quarter edition of Dharma Direction, we’re all focused on the bounty that this harvest season brings. You can scroll down and read without subscribing or stop and subscribe for free if you like our vibe. If you’re already a subscriber—we thank you!
IN THIS ISSUE:
Behind the Green Door: listen to Debbie Abbott’s third essay on celebrity serendipity, “So Many Footballs!”
Best Medicine: listen to Colleen Markley read her humorous essay, “Man Flu: He’s Sick … She’s Sicker” (from her Yes, It Really Happened blog)
Culinary Wellness: watch the first of a two-part interview with Chef and Wellness Coach Candy Lesher that’s all about Food … and Health.
Story Art-in-Motion: relaxing video of watercolor artist Read Gallo painting to the words of LJ Longo reading “Recovery in the City,” part of her continuing romantasy
The Reading Dingy: the books we love, are currently reading, or are stacking up in our TBR pile
The Mabon music video playlist on The Muse-Sick YouTube channel
Behind The Green Door …
An essay on celebrity serendipity - the third in a four-series installment
“So Many Footballs!”
~ Listen to Debbie Abbott read her essay about the unexpected afternoon she spent with one of only eight football coaches in the NFL to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Debbie Abbott is a former managing editor for an upscale food and lifestyle print magazine in Scottsdale, Arizona. Now she spends time working on her debut novel and sharing anecdotes and life lessons as Dharma Direction’s publisher, editor, and contributor. Her novel-in-progress, THE ANGELS’ GAUNTLET, is inspired by Debbie’s own life with the additional fantasy element of Angelic influence over the life of her Volunteer soul … which is determined to keep a 3,000-year-old promise of hope to the angels.
Connect with Debbie on Facebook, through Debbie's Twitter page or visit Debbie on Instagram.
Best Medicine …
“Man Flu: She’s Sick … He’s Sicker"
~ As common as falling leaves, the autumn season ushers in the cold … and the flu. Colleen Markley reads her humorous essay about getting sick, especially if you’re a ‘she’ with a ‘he’ in your house. (Originally published in Colleen’s blog: Yes! It Really Happened.)
Colleen Markley is a novelist, freelance writer, and memoir instructor, named the June 2021 winner of the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop Humor Writer of the Month. She was awarded the Nickie’s Prize for humor for her essay “Unflappably Calm, Occasionally Furious, Ready and Willing to Hide the Bodies,” published in Sisters! Bonded by Love and Laughter. Her novel-in-progress, LILITH LAND, is a story about the end of the world where only the women survive. (It’s a novel, not an action plan.)
Check out Colleen’s Substack to catch up on her publishing accolades and recent bylines.
Find her at www.ColleenMarkley.com or sign up here for her newsletter and updates. Visit Colleen on Instagram or Facebook. See her reviews and what she’s reading on Goodreads.
Culinary Wellness: Health and Food, part 1
Featuring Chef and Culinary Wellness Coach Candy Lesher
In this first, of a two-part interview, Dharma Direction publisher/editor and contributor, Debbie Abbott, talks with cancer-survivor, Chef, and Culinary Wellness Coach Candy Lesher about the importance of using food to help heal your body.
As a Culinary Wellness Coach, Candy Lesher doesn't simply sit on the sidelines and coach, she's right in the game with her clients. As a chef she openly admits weight is an occupational health hazard, so she engages in that daily battle also. As a Stage III cancer survivor, she knows the importance of feeding your body the nutrients it needs to fight off illness—and function at its very best.
Connect with Candy on LinkedIn, visit her website at YourKitchenRX.com, or see her new Insta page: The Agoge Kitchen as she explores the route to recipe creation.
Story Art-In-Motion …
~ LJ Longo reads her short Romantasy about a bad witch, a Tarot dating app, and tangled wishes under a witchlight as artist Read Gallo brings the scene to life with watercolors.
“Recovery in the City”
Switch video mode to full screen after pressing the Play button, and then clicking on the box that appears to the right of the speaker icon in lower right corner above.
L.J. Longo is an award-winning Romance author, a queer geek, and feminist writing a medley of dark romance (which can be found through Evernight Publishing), magical realism, weird sci-fi/fantasy, and very implausible creative non-fiction. She recently received Third Place recognition for her submission to the Writer’s Digest Annual Short Story Fiction Contest with her entry titled, "To Harvest Lavender." Coming Soon: LJs queer fiction, “The Stranded Sky Castle” will be featured in the Alpha Male anthologies from Evernight Publishing.
Connect to L.J. on Facebook, L.J.'s Twitter page, or L.J. on Instagram.
The Reading Dingy …
New releases to add to your to-be-read pile!
Check out all of these recommended reads on Goodreads.
The Mabon Playlist
Each song on this music video playlist gives a nod to something related to the autumn season of football fumbles, mascots, overtime, champions and cheerleaders. Listen and/or watch The Muse-Sick YouTube channel - Dharma Direction Mabon Playlist.
See y’all in December for Dharma Direction’s next seasonal edition, Yule: Winter Solstice.
Many blessings to everyone,
~ Debbie Abbott, publisher/editor
#gowiththeflow #DenverBroncos #superbowl #humorasmedicine #foodasmedicine #musicasmedicine